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Case 8.3
VASSILKOVSKA V. WOODFIELD NISSAN, INC.
Appellate Court of Illinois
358 Ill. App. 3d 20; 830 N.E.2d 619; 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 516 [May 24, 2005]
FACTS:
In July, 2002 the Plaintiff purchased a used 2000 Nissan Sentra from Woodfield Nissan, Inc.
The parties signed two separate documents.
The purchase contract, signed by both parties, indicated an “unpaid balance” of $4,598.44.
The Plaintiff also signed a separate arbitration agreement.
In the parties’ Arbitration Agreement the Plaintiff agreed to waive her right to pursue any cause of
action, related to the sales transaction for the car, in a court of law.
Later, the Plaintiff received a financing agreement from her lender that indicated an amount due of
$7,235.12 on her vehicle. [This was a $2,636.68 discrepancy.]
In February 2003, the Plaintiff filed a complaint against the Defendant alleging a violation of the
Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, common law fraud, a violation of the
Truth in Lending Act and a violation of the Credit Services Organization Act.
PROCEDURE: The Circuit Court for Cook County Illinois denied Woodfield’s motion to dismiss and
compel arbitration.
ISSUE: Whether there is consideration by Woodfield to support the independent Arbitration
Agreement?
RULE: “It is a basic tenet of contract law that in order for a promise to be enforceable against the
promisor, the promise must have given some consideration for the promise.” “Consideration is
defined as a bargained-for exchange, whereby the promisor receives some benefit, or the promisee
suffers detriment.”
REASONING:
1. The language of the Arbitration Agreement makes clear that its purpose is to force the Plaintiff to
arbitrate any claim she may assert against Woodfield, while excluding Defendant from the same
promise.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
When an arbitration agreement is a contract in its own right it must be reviewed to ensure that it
contains the elements necessary for the formation of a contract.
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without
the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
A mutual promise to arbitrate would be sufficient consideration to support an independent
arbitration agreement. Mutuality of obligation is required only to the extent that both parties to
an agreement are bound or neither is bound; that is, if the requirement of consideration has been
met, mutuality of obligation is not essential.
